American pilots of No 71 'Eagle' Squadron rush to their Hawker Hurricanes at Kirton-in-Lindsey, 17 March 1941. L to R: 'Pete' Provenzano, 'Red' Tobin, Sam Mauriello and Bill Nichols (IWM) The following audio interviews/photos are copyright for listening/viewing purposes only.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Robert F Schalit Interview - RAF/USAAF Service - Part 2

Flying Officer Gregory Augustus 'Gus' Daymond of No 71 (Eagle) Squadron RAF, at North Weald, Essex following his award of the DFC. In August 1942 Daymond became Commanding Officer of the Squadron, with whom he had shot down 7 enemy aircraft. Upon the amalgamation of the Eagle squadrons into the USAAF, Daymond received the rank of Major and added 2 to his score with the 334th Fighter Squadron before returning to the USA. Peterson also transferred, was promoted to full Colonel at the age of 23, and commanded the 4th Fighter Group until 1943. Photo: IWM (CH - 3738)

Flight Lieutenant Chesley Gordon Peterson of No 71 (Eagle) Squadron RAF, at North Weald, Essex following his award of the DFC. In August 1942 Peterson transferred, was promoted to full Colonel at the age of 23, and commanded the 4th Fighter Group until 1943. Photo: IWM (CH - 3738)

No. 71 (Eagle) Squadron Pilots

Original roster of pilots in 1940

L C 'Lance' Wade, of Recklaw, Texas, volunteered for service with the RAF in in 1940. After pilot refresher training in the United States and advanced flying training in England, he joined No. 33 Squadron in Egypt and claimed his first victories on 18 November 1941 when he shot down two Italian Fiat CR42s. He took part in the heaviest fighting in the Western Desert before completing his first tour of operations in September 1942. He then toured training establishments and test-flew aircraft in the USA before returning to operations in North Africa as a flight commander with No. 145 Squadron RAF in January 1943. He was made Commanding Officer the following month and added to his victory claims over Tunisia, Sicily and Italy, before ending his second tour as the top-scoring Allied fighter pilot in the Mediterranean area in November 1943. Wade was promoted to Wing Commander and joined the staff at Desert Air Force Headquarters, only to be killed during a routine flight when his Auster spun and crashed at Foggia on 12 January 1944. He remains the highest-scoring American pilot to serve solely in the RAF, with 25 victories. Photo: IWM (CM - 2866)

August 1942 Pilots' Dispersal Hut at Rochford airfield, personnel of No 121 (Eagle) Squadron play Poker as they await the order to 'scramble'. Left to right they are: George Carpenter (standing, from Oil City, Pennsylvania), Gilbert Halsey (Oklahoma), Flight Sergeant James Milton Sanders (Nashville, Tennessee) and Flight Sergeant Fred Renshaw Vance (Virginia). In the rear right-hand corner of the photograph, the telephonist can be seen, along with several other personnel awaiting the call to action. Photo: IWM

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NOTICE - MAY 2015

Edition #9 of Immigrants of War is sold out - currently editing the next edition - stay tuned.

Prior to the United States entry into WWII, thousands of Americans found a way into combat through the Canadian and British Armed Forces.

They were a breed apart. Many saw an opportunity to prove their worth after having been previously rejected by their country's military. Others were simply adventure seekers drawn to the opportunity to fly fast aircraft.

Whatever the individual reasons were, they all saw a need to stop Nazi aggression as quickly as possible. Sadly, almost 1000 American citizens were killed while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve during World War II.

Immigrants of War is a collection of memories from those who were a part of this fascinating story.

The book is an ongoing project, now in its 9th edition. I welcome photo scans (600 dpi jpeg) and related information which would assist in documenting this important story. Please contact me at the following address.

Every so often the 8th AF News office receives a book that gets your attention because of its unique premise. This volume is one of those – unique in several ways but in particular that this printing is its fifth edition.

The author has published updated editions as additional material has been uncovered – he has notably “hung in there” in his ongoing search for history making the book invaluable as a history of a little-known aspect of the air war of World War II.

The book has indeed grown over the years with additional histories and photographs of American airmen who left for Canada to join the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940-41, many to fly from airbases in England. The material is always fresh in the telling.

Author Wally Fydenchuk has done an admirable job of telling the stories of these airmen, many of whom are familiar to those of the Mighty Eighth. The presentations are the individual stories of these volunteers, with interviews and personal reminisces of each one. Here you will see old friends who flew early in the war and became part of the Eagle Squadron and later the 4th Fighter Group.

Photographs abound, as do stories of the fliers, not found in any other historical documentations of this unusual group of patriots. Here are Don Blakeslee, Don Gentile, Duane Beeson, John Godfrey, John Magee, Michael McPharlin (one of many who were turned down by the USAAC for technical reasons), and numbers of others. These men flew in the early years, tough missions often accompanied by significant sacrifices. They carried what they learned in combat into the 8th Air Force after its arrival in England in 1942 and imparted their knowledge to the fresh arrivals in American fighter outfits. A portion of these early fighter pilots flew tours in Heavy bombers later in the war.

In 1941, Canadian training bases were scattered across the country and were turning out pilots, bomb aimers, navigators and gunners, a total of more than 130,000 during the war. The Commonwealth Air Training Plan was the program that took in and trained these courageous Yanks.

“These Americans are a fine lot,” commented one of the staff training officers. Many of the men, such as Claude Grimm of Los Angeles, stated that they joined for patriotic reasons.

“So far as I’m concerned, the whole of North America is my country and in helping Canada and the Allies, I’m helping to protect North America.

That’s the way most of us feel about the whole thing.”

Immigrants of War has now expanded to 485 pages, complete with period photographs. The combat stories of missions are here, frequently told in the first-person tense by the airmen themselves. There are historical sections on the various theatres of the war and the circumstance and challenges of each. In all, an authentic exceptional volume for any lover of the war in the air; the fight for freedom; the courage of America’s young men.

Reviewed by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert S. Williams, MSM, CD

Well known is the fact that the United States entered the Second World War after the December 7th, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. What is not well known is the number of its citizens who joined other Allied countries’ services to fight against Hitler. Were it not for books such as this one, the number and accomplishments of many of them would remain fairly much unknown, perhaps forever.

(Wally) Peter Fydenchuk has produced an excellent book chronicling the number of American citizens who served in both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Canadian AirForce (RCAF) in the Second World War. Mr. Fydenchuk’s book, replete with many personal stories and containing many photographs never before published, is a gold mine and goes a long way towards remedying this gap in knowledge.

The sight of an RCAF uniform with a “U.S.A.” insignia on both shoulders is certainly unique, and will come as a surprise to many readers. Readers will also likely be surprised to discover that almost 1,000 American citizens were killed while serving as part of either the RCAF or the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR)

"The Few" no, not those dashing heroes of the Battle of Britain, but those young Americans who went to Canada in 1940 to volunteer for service in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Many of whom would end up "across the pond" in the RAF in England where they would serve with great distinction. These were the so called "cast offs", the men the Army Air Corp would not take because of lack of education or ability. Names like Don Blakeslee, Ralph "Kidd" Hofer, Don Gentile, future Medal of Honor recipient John C. "Red" Morgan, Red Campbell and future members of the 100th BG: Richard Carey, "Hong Kong" Wilson. McGee Fuller, Mark Carnell and Robert Pearson.

They all had a passion to fly, the adventurous American "can do" spirit and the foresight to know that sooner vs later, America would be in this War. They came from all over America and Wally P. Fydenchuk has spent a great amount of time, energy and effort to research the history and contributions of many of these men.

Immigrants of War is an important chapter in the Air War over England and Europe that would have been lost had it not been for Mr Fydenchuk's tireless efforts to uncover these "diamonds in the ruff" from America.

Mike Howell

Immigrants of War is the first in a series about Americans who joined the RCAF in the early stages of the War. While much has been published about the more famous pilots of the Eagle Squadrons , these are compelling stories of some of the other 9000 Americans who served.

Well written , many pictures and large easy to read type. As a WW II Aviation Buff , I highly recommend it , you won't be disappointed!

Newspaper Review - Harrison (Ohio) News - Herald

A new book recognizing and honoring thousands of lesser-known American soldiers who fought the Nazi threat in World War II has been released, shedding new light on heroism that many have overlooked.

Wally Fydenchuk is the author of "Immigrants of War," a book about Americans who served in the British and Canadian air force before the attack on Pearl Harbor in order to fight in the war.

Many of them joined at the risk of imprisonment by their own government for violating the U.S. Neutrality Act.

"It's a good book," Fydenchuk said. "It's a fascinated read about young Americans deciding to fight the Axis powers before Pearl Harbor."

He added that many early recruits had to lose their U.S. citizenship because they had to swear an oath to the king. The oath of service was modified for later recruits. Fydenchuk said that 15 thousand Americans joined the Canadian military. About 9,000 of them joined the Air Force. He added that about 1,000 Americans were killed in British and Canadian service, but they are not recognized on many memorials.

"They were ahead of their times. They didn't wait for their country," said Fydenchuk, adding that many memorial sites do not list Americans killed while fighting in a foreign military.

"Those fellows virtually disappeared off the record books," he said. "A lot of these fellows kind of disappeared in the shuffle, yet they were visionaries. They saw the Nazi threat"

At the time, Great Britain and Canada had begun a recruitment program to draw Americans to join the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force.

"After the Battle of Britain a lot of their pilots were killed," Fydenchuk said. "They welcomed them to come and join the Canadian military. It was an adventure for them."

Fydenchuk has researched this topic for about 10 years. He grew up next to a World War II airfield and eventually learned that it had been closed after an American pilot had been killed in a training exercise. He became curious about why an American was training with Canadian pilots. He has interviewed many former pilots and others involved in the program who shared their stories and reasons for joining.

Fydenchuk added that many chose to join foreign branches of service because they were unable to meet standards of age or education required by the U.S. military.

"Before America was at war you needed two years of college to get into the Air Corps," said Fydenchuk. "They would take you at 18 and the America Air Corps wouldn't take you until 21."

Many pilots transferred back to U.S. service after America declared war on the Axis powers. By that point, they were legitimate and experienced pilots and the U.S. would take them.

"It was kind of a second chance for them," said Fydenchuk, adding that their years of hard-earned experience in flying served them well.

"They had more combat experience than the ones who hadn't joined the Canadians or the British, because they hadn't seen battle since World War I. They taught them combat tactics."They trained in California, with beautiful sunny skies. They couldn't fight combat-experienced Luftwaffe in cloudy, overcast weather. The transferees taught these guys from West Point," Fydenchuk said. "They had previously been rejected. Now they were the heroes of the war. When they transferred over they had the experience and were ready for action."

While most of these soldiers transferred back to U.S. service after the country declared war, 5,000 Americans chose to remain with their current British and Canadian units until the end of the war. "A lot of them didn't want to transfer back. They had gotten accepted. They were part of the group," Fydenchuk said.

Joe Hartshorn, originally from Pennsylvania and now a Florida resident, suggested the title of the book. He flew bombers with Canadian forces during the war and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for his valor. His is one of the many stories related in Fydenchuk's book.

"I was concerned that our isolationist Congress would do nothing. Then, too, we started hearing the radio broadcasts from London and seeing photos of the bombing damage," he said. "I just got angry and scared that the Nazis would take over."

Hartshorn eventually transferred back to U.S. service for the increase in pay and the life insurance provided, but he remained with his Canadian crew since the unit was too effective to break up.

"My crew was great; the extra money meant we could share more beers at the local pub," he said.

He flew 34 operations.

"I was in an American uniform in a Canadian squadron. I was surrounded by thousands of young men in blue uniforms. I was known as 'that Yank,'" he said. "You really become a tight band. You're very much tied together."

"We were family in a good many ways," he said. "I do look back on those days with nostalgia."

Hartshorn recalls two of his friends, Andy Wakeman and Max Dowden; both Americans killed while serving in a foreign military.

"I do get a little wroth when I think of the many Yanks who died in the RCAF and we are barely if ever mentioned on monument inscriptions where they list all the people who flew in the RCAF," he said. "And if you were transferred into the U.S. Forces, as I was, and flew as an American with Canadian squadrons, or with the RAAF, you were never mentioned again."

Fydenchuk's book includes the names of every American who died in a foreign military fighting the Nazis during World War II, as well as those who were taken as prisoners of war.

"I was very pleased with the book. I think Wally did a very good job on this," Hartshorn said.

Stevin Oudshoorn Netherlands

I received this (self published) book, by Canadian W.P. Fydenchuk, called IMMIGRANTS OF WAR.

The author and I have been in contact regarding Americans who died in service of the Commonwealth air forces - Wally usually supplying far more info than I did.

This book starts out with an overview of the policies regarding and reasons of Americans fighting "Another's War". It then continues with MANY biographies (complemented with quite a few portrait pictures) and first person accounts of Americans flying with the R(C)AF. It also lists all the Americans KIA with these Air Forces (almost 1000!).

I finally found out why some Americans died with R(C)AF Sqns while they should have been transferred back to the USAAF. (Martin, T/Sgt Martin who died while flying with that very international crew with 44 Sqn...was on DETACHED SERVICE; many Americans were officially with the USAAF but decided to continue their tour with their RAF unit....Many died while on detached service. It solved that mystery for me...)

In any case, a book very much worth reading.Much has been written about the Eagle Squadron Americans and Fydenchuk also pays a lot of attention to them, but for me it is the Bomber Command Americans that finally get the attention they deserved. Besides some written memories, not much is known about them.

Although Americans always reinterred their wardead in permanent park or brought them back to the States, the R(C)AF Americans are still buried all over Europe in Commonwealth graves. In my hometown of Amsterdam alone, four are buried.

If I have to add one criticism it is that I had hoped more would be about the ones that did not make it. The vast majority is about the ones that made it through the war, with little info on the ones who did not. Notwithstanding the roll of honor in the back of the book. I very much recommend this book.